Getting found online through mobile devices is extremely important for small businesses.  According to a 2012 Local Search Usage Study by comScore, 61 percent of respondents searching for information about local businesses say local search results are the most relevant, and 58 percent say local search results are the most trustworthy.  People are always on their smart phones searching for businesses.  Therefore, learning how to optimize for mobile search engine optimization is of paramount importance for small businesses.  Here are some helpful tips on how you can optimize for mobile SEO for your small business.

How to optimize for mobile SEO| Tips

 

  • Keywords are Still The Same – We’ll start off with the obvious.  If you want to get found online with customers using mobile, you’d use the same keywords that customers using a desktop would use.  You don’t want to overoptimize or over SEO your site for mobile.  Follow the same tips.
  • Beauty is in the eye of the phone holder- Where Mobile SEO comes into play is how your site should look to those using mobile devices.  Create a mobile specific style sheet for your site.  If you use a WordPress site, then I recommend using the plugin WP Touch.
  • Keep is shortcode & simple- Don’t get fancy with the graphics; avoid overdesigning your site with tons of Flash and graphics.  Simplicity is the guiding principle for any good website, whether mobile or not.

 

One final question is ‘Should I Use a Separate Mobile Domain’ for mobile SEO?  Here’s what Mashable has to say:

Until recently, there was open debate and speculation about having a separate mobile URL — how it could look like duplicate content and penalize your site in search results. Most experts now seem to agree that there isn’t a penalty. SEO expert Bryson Meunier did an analysis that shows sites with a different mobile URL actually receive more traffic.

Currently, there isn’t a penalty.  And Google would never change the rules on webmasters, would they?  I’d probably advice using a separate site unless you absolutely have to.

How to optimize for mobile SEO| Infographic

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